Bardot writes to Danish queen over pilot whale hunts

The French film icon has become a champion of animal issues over the last few years, recently campaigning to end bullfighting in Spain and curb seal hunting in Canada.

Now her attention has turned to the killing of pilot whales in the Danish-held Faroe Islands - she is outraged over the annual cull of the marine creatures which sees them driven to shore and killed with knives.

She has now written to Denmark's Queen Margrethe II, urging the royal to step in and end the slaughter.

Bardot writes, "This macabre spectacle is a shame for Denmark and the Faroe Islands. This is not a hunt but a mass slaughter. (It's an) outmoded tradition that has no acceptable justification in today's world."